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This paper focuses on heavy metal distribution patterns in sediments of central Guilan (CG) and east Mazandaran (EM) in the south Caspian Sea coasts, north of Iran. Sediment sub-samples were retrieved from core and surficial samples in different environments of marine and coastal lagoons as well as coastal outcrops. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-MS and ICP-AES) analysis were used to determine the metal chemistry. Concentration of the selected heavy metals exhibited variations through sediment samples which are partially related to grain size and organic matter content. Geoaccumulation index and statistical procedures have been implemented for analyzing the absolute metal values. Result of the geoaccumulation index demonstrated that the metal distribution reflects the influence of geological background of the watershed area. Some elements including Pb, Ni, Cu, Sr and Ba showed elevated concentration in the CG that could be attributed to development of industrial activities. A comparison of the metal concentration in the marine sediments and the Late Holocene outcrops revealed that the level of the metals concentration at the sea generally corresponds to natural background. The northern part of Iranian multi-lithological catchments basin is the main source for the sediments that drained by the rivers to the South Caspian Sea basin.

Background: Prolonged labor is associated with various maternal and neonatal complications. This study aims to investigate the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and pain intensity and duration of labor stages in primiparous women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran from November 2021 to January 2022 and comprised primiparous women who were in active labor after a term pregnancy (37–42 weeks). Five milliliter of blood was taken from each subject and centrifuged for the measurement of vitamin D level using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HLPC) method was used to measure 25-OH vitamin D. In addition, through history, examination, and investigations, the subjects were evaluated according to the pain intensity and duration of the first (active phase) and second stages of labor. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation test indicated a significant relationship between vitamin D and active phase duration (r = 0.64, p = 0.012), second stage duration (r = 0.73, p = 0.001), pain intensity of the active phase (r = 0.61, p = 0.022), and pain intensity of the second stage (r = 0.65, p = 0.026). According to the analysis of variance table, based on vitamin D, there were statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of the active phase duration, second stage duration, pain intensity of the active phase, and that of the second stage of labor (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Low levels of vitamin D may influence the progress of labor and increase the rate of prolonged labor.

Climate change is a serious issue that we must face. It requires action that goes beyond just scientific methods and includes insights from religious teachings. The Holy Qur'an, which often mentions weather and climate, hasn't been fully explored by religious scholars in this area. These texts show weather as a sign of God's power, and as a way to show kindness or punishment. This study suggests a fresh examination of the Qur'an's climate-related stories, looking for links with past weather events and God's messages. It argues that Islamic principles could help us address the climate crisis and encourages religious scholars to apply these ideas to current environmental issues. By examining the Qur'an's descriptions of climate across different regions and times, we aim to connect ancient warnings with today's scientific understanding. The paper calls for a combined approach, where religious perspectives enhance scientific research, leading to a sustainable way of living.

Abstract Fuchs Uveitis Syndrome (FUS), also known as Fuchs Heterochromic Iridocyclitis, is a chronic form of uveitis characterized by mild inflammation primarily affecting one eye. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and epidemiological features of FUS in an Iranian population. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 466 patients diagnosed with FUS at an ophthalmology center affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences between 2003 and 2021. The Kimura et al. criteria were used for FUS diagnosis. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, misdiagnosed cases, concurrent diseases, and associated ocular findings were analyzed. The study included 507 eyes of 466 FUS patients, with a mean age of 34.01 ± 11.25 years. Iris atrophy, keratic precipitates, and vitritis were common clinical findings. Heterochromia was an infrequent feature. Initial misdiagnosis occurred in 13 patients, with pars planitis being the most common incorrect diagnosis. Toxoplasmosis and multiple sclerosis were common concurrent diseases. Pediatric FUS cases were noted, possibly attributed to early-onset manifestations. Differences in clinical characteristics were observed when compared to other populations. This study provides insights into the clinical and epidemiological aspects of FUS in an Iranian population. Variations in clinical features, misdiagnosis patterns, and concurrent diseases were noted. Attention to specific clinical parameters can aid in accurate FUS diagnosis. Understanding these differences contributes to a better understanding of FUS presentation and its relationship with other diseases.

Background and aims: The fertility trend in Isfahan, as in other parts of the country, has decreased significantly in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the parity progression ratio (PPR) and factors affecting fertility. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire. Moreover, the study method was a survey, and the sample size included 662 married women aged 15 to 49 years. The study also employed a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Results: The results revealed that the cumulative fertility rate ((CFR=1.5) has decreased in Isfahan. There was also a significant relationship between the number of children with abortion (P=0.001), education (P=0.000), and employment of women (P=0.02). The results of multivariate regression with the control of women’s job type also indicated that the variables of the age of marriage and literacy of women (r=0.355, P

Application of biosolids derived from municipal wastewater treatment sludge to agricultural croplands in Nebraska, US elevated microplastic concentrations in runoff water, and could contribute to microplastic contamination of surface waters, suggests a field study in summer 2020.

Water and energy are two strategic drivers of sustainable development, intimately interlaced and vital for a secure future of humanity. Given that water resources are limited, whereas global population and energy demand are exponentially growing, the competitive balance between these resources, referred to as the water-energy nexus, is receiving renewed focus. The desalination industry alleviates water stress by producing freshwater from saline sources, such as seawater, brackish or groundwater. Since the last decade, the market has been dominated by membrane desalination technology, offering significant advantages over thermal processes, such as lower energy demand, easy process control and scale-up, modularity for flexible productivity, and feasibility of synergic integration of different membrane operations. Although seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) accounts for more than 70% of the global desalination capacity, it is circumscribed by some significant technological limitations, such as: (i) the relatively low water recovery factor (around 50%) due to the negative impact of osmotic and polarization phenomena; (ii) an energy consumption in the range of 3–5 kWh m ^−3 , still far from the theoretical energy demand (1.1 kWh m ^−3 ) to produce potable water from seawater (at 50% water recovery factor). Ultimately, desalination is an energy intensive practice and research efforts are oriented toward the development of alternative and more energy-efficient approaches in order to enhance freshwater resources without placing excessive strain on limited energy supplies. Recent years have seen a relevant surge of interest in membrane distillation (MD), a thermally driven membrane desalination technology having the potential to complement SWRO in the logic of Process Intensification and Zero Liquid Discharge paradigm. Due to its peculiar transport mechanism and negligibility of osmotic phenomena, MD allows high-quality distillate production (theoretically, non-volatile species are completely rejected) with a recovery factor of up to 80% at a relatively low operative temperature (typically 60 °C–80 °C). Although low operative temperatures make MD technology attractive for renewable power applications (e.g. solar thermal, wind or geothermal energy sources) or for efficient exploitation of low-grade or waste heat streams, the low energy efficiency intrinsically due to heat losses—and specifically to temperature polarization—has so far hindered the application at industrial scale. Nowadays, photothermal materials able to absorb and convert natural or artificial irradiation into heat have gained great attention, demonstrating the potential to mitigate the ‘anthropic’ energy input to MD and to mitigate the impact of thermal inefficiencies. On this road, a step-change improvement in light-to-heat conversion is expected through high-throughput computational screening over thermoplasmonic materials based on electronic and optical properties of advanced materials including novel topological phases of matter used as nanofillers in polymeric membranes. Coherently with the concept of Circular Economy, waste hypersaline solutions rejected from desalination process (referred as ‘brine’) are now the subject of valorization activities along two main exploitation routes: (1) recovery of valuable minor and trace metals and minerals, with special focus on critical raw materials (including, among others, Mg, Na, Ca, K, Sr, Li, Br, B, and Rb); (2) production of salinity gradient power (SGP) renewable energy resulting from the recovery of the Gibbs energy of mixing (mainly represented by the entropic contribution) of two solutions having different ionic concentration. The exciting new frontier of sustainable mining of seawater concentrates is accelerating the appearance of a plethora of innovative membrane materials and methods for brine dehydration and selective extraction of trace ions, although under the sword of Damocles represented by cost feasibility for reliable commercial application. On the other hand, among several emerging technologies, reverse electrodialysis (SGP-RED) was already proven capable—at least at the kW scale–of turning the chemical potential difference between river water, brackish water, and seawater into electrical energy. Efforts to develop a next generation of ion exchange membranes exhibiting high perm-selectivity (especially toward monovalent ions) and low electrical resistance, to improve system engineering and to optimize operational conditions, pursue the goal of enhancing the low power density so far achievable (in the order of a few W per m ^2 ). This Roadmap takes the form of a series of short contributions written independently by worldwide experts in the topic. Collectively, such contributions provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of the art in membrane science and technology at the water-energy nexus, and how it is expected to develop in the future. In addition, this Roadmap acknowledges the challenges and advances in membrane systems, particularly emphasizing the interplay of material innovation and system optimization, which collectively contribute to advancing the desalination field within the water-energy nexus framework.

Main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is considered one of the key targets due to its role in viral replication. The use of traditional phytochemicals is an important part of complementary/alternative medicine, which also accompany the concept of temperament, where it has been shown that hot medicines cure cold and cold medicines cure hot, with cold and hot pattern being associated with oxidative and anti-oxidative properties in medicine, respectively. Molecular docking in this study has demonstrated that a number of anti-oxidative and hot temperament-based phytochemicals have high binding affinities to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, both in the monomeric and dimeric deposited states of the protein. The highest ranking phytochemicals identified in this study included savinin, betulinic acid and curcumin. Complexes of savinin, betulinic acid, curcumin as well as Nirmatrelvir (the only approved inhibitor, used for comparison) bound to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro were further subjected to molecular dynamics simulations. Subsequently, RMSD, RMSF, Rg, number of hydrogen bonds, binding free energies and residue contributions (using MM-PBSA) and buried surface area (BSA), were analysed. The computational results suggested high binding affinities of savinin, betulinic acid and curcumin to both the monomeric and dimeric deposited states of Mpro, while highlighting the lower binding energy of betulinic acid in comparison with savinin and curcumin and even Nirmatrelvir, leading to a greater stability of the betulinic acid-SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complex. Overall, based on the increasing mutation rate in the spike protein and the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro remains highly conserved, this study provides an insight into the use of phytochemicals against COVID-19 and other coronavirus diseases.

Abstract Background To evaluate the effects of intravitreal silicone oil (SO) on the retinal and choroidal thickness in eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods A literature search was performed in Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Embase, Clinical Key, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and Springer, as well as Persian databases, including IranDoc, MagIran, SID, MOH thesis, and MOH articles until June 2020. Two reviewers independently searched and extracted the data. Results Sixteen studies (n = 391) met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed that the SO tamponade could significantly reduce the central macular thickness (CMT) in patients with RRD as compared to gas tamponade WMD = − 14.91; 95% CI: − 22.23, − 7.60; P

Abstract Background One of the major side effects of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is retinopathy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters in a group of patients who have Hydroxychloroquine-induced retinopathy based on Multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) with a group who do not have retinopathy. Method This is a Cross-Sectional Study. In this study, patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who had been taking Hydroxychloroquine for at least 7 years were included. MfERG and OCTA imaging were performed for all patients. Patients were divided into Normal mfERG and Abnormal mfERG groups based on mfERG results. OCTA parameters were studied in these two groups. Result Sixty-one patients (61 eyes) were included. Forty-one patients had SLE and 20 patients had RA. Forty patients (66.7%) had Abnormal mfERG. The mean vascular density (VD) in Superficial capillary plexus (SCP) layer was not significantly different between Normal mfERG and Abnormal mfERG groups (P-Value> 0.05). Mean VD in SCP layer was not significantly different between Normal mfERG and Abnormal mfERG groups (P-Value> 0.05). In RA subgroup, mean VD in SCP layer in PeriFovea region in Abnormal mfERG group was significantly lower than normal group (P-Value 0.05). Conclusion VD in the DCP layer decreased in abnormal mfERG patients compared to patients with normal mfERG. But it seems that VD in SCP layer, FAZ Area and Flow Area are similar in both groups. OCTA may be used as a non-invasive tool in the diagnosis of early stages of HCQ-induced retinopathy, especially in RA patients, but further studies are needed.

Background and Aims: The number of Internet users and those with Internet dependence is growing worldwide. Internet dependence can cause many physical and mental problems for people. The present study aims to compare musculoskeletal disorders and pain between students with and without Internet dependence and having different levels of physical activity.Methods: Participants were 202 university students. Young’s Internet Addiction Test and International Physical Activity Questionnaire were used to assess their Internet dependency and physical activity, respectively. Samples were divided into three groups of non-internet dependent, at risk of Internet dependence, and Internet-dependent with low, moderate, and good physical activity. Pain was assessed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and the Visual Analogue Scale. Goniometer, inclinometer, flexible ruler, and caliper were used to assess musculoskeletal disorders. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the research groups. Results: There was a significant difference between the study groups in the variable of pain in neck, shoulders, upper back, wrists, lower back, elbows and knees, and disorders of head forward angle, uneven shoulders, lateral pelvic tilt, and kyphosis. Internet-dependent group with low physical activity had higher musculoskeletal pain and disorders, whereas the non-internet dependent group had lower musculoskeletal pain and disorders.Conclusion: Overuse of the Internet can cause many musculoskeletal disorders and pain. Therefore, it is necessary to inform people about its consequences, the proper posture when using the Internet, and the positive effect of physical activity on the health.

Introduction: The sun is the main source of Earth energy and its climate changes. Changes in the amount of energy emitted from the sun or in its surface temperature can cause fluctuations in the atmosphere. Solar spots are among the factors that can affect the climatic conditins of the Earth periodically and ultimately lead to climate changes. The wavelet transform (WT) has been a major development in the field of data analysis since the 1980s. It is an effective means of processing time-series data, especially those with nonstationary characteristics. Iran has been experiencing high climatic variations during the past decades.Wavelet analysis can be a powerful tool to analyze the processes that are nonstationary in nature and occur over finite spatiotemporal domains. In particular, it is used to study oscillatory behavior and reveal the periodicities present in signals. To obtain the possible correlations among the periodic behaviors represented in environmental datasets, wavelet analyses have to be performed. A wavelet is a wave-like oscillatory function which is localized in a time and frequency space and must have a mean of zero. The output is a graphical representation of the 95% confidence level contour, which shows the correlation between two time series, as a function of the signal period and its time evolution Methodology: Wavelets are flexible functions that are resolved in the time and frequency domains and, thus, ideal to quantify the changes in the contribution of each period (or frequency) over time to the overall variance (or power) of a signal (e.g., a time series). Because wavelets can be scaled (i.e., contracted or dilated), they can efficiently accommodate both high and low-frequency structures in nonstationary signals, whose statistical characteristics vary over time. In this study, the Morlet wavelet was used, and the spectral analysis of precipitation time series was done through using the wavelet theory with the aim of identifying the effect of sunspots on the spectral behavior of precipitation. The precipitation data as well as the data on the sunspots for a period of 50 year (1961-2010) were used at two synoptic stations of Isfahan and Kashan. To this end, the researcher benefited from statistical analysis and wavelet analysis using the MATLAB software. Sunspots are the most important indicators of the variability in solar radiation; in the majority of studies, the relative number of sunspots is mainly used to analyze the sunspot changes. Results and Discussion: Many studies have analysed the variability in precipitation, since climate change has become a major global issue. We investigated the trends of precipitation in two synoptic stations of Isfahan and Kashan and explored the changes in local water resources to improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on water resources in the area sunspots in different years. Also, the correlation coefficients of these fluctuations at the mentioned stations were calculated. Based on the wavelet analysis, it was obvious that during all the months of the year sunspots activity left behind an 11-year-old cycle. Of course, in different months, the extremes of activities and fluctuations were found to be different. The plotted wavelets for different months of the year were evaluated. It was revealed that, during the statistical period of 60 years, there have been four cycles in the sunspot activity with a different degree of intensity in each cycle. According to the results, there was no significant relationship between precipitation and the activity of solar spots. Based on wavelet analysis, there was a poor negative correlation between them. Considering the analysis of a 50-year period, four 11-year cycles were observed in the sunspot activity. Conclusion: Sunspots are the most important indicators of variability in solar radiation. In the majority of studies, the relative number of sunspots is mainly used to analyze the sunspot changes. The application of wavelet transform and regression analysis helps to interpret the periodic cycles, trends and non-stationarities on different timescales in the climate records examined. The present study was conducted based on the annual, seasonal, and monthly averages of the sunspots during a statistical period of 50 years derived from the American Geophysical Union. The aim was to investigate the connection among the 11-year sunspot activity cycles and precipitation patterns in two synoptic stations of Isfahan and Kashan from 1961 to 2010. It was observed that the peak activity was in the second and the third cycles, and the least one was in the first and the fourth cycles. Additionally, the range of rainfall cycles (7-12 years) was higher in the fall than in the other seasons at the studied stations. The findings of this study can be beneficial for policymakers to consider future potential droughts and wet years based on sunspot activities so that water resources can be more properly managed.

مقدمه: میزان فشار پرفیوژن چشمی Ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) می‌تواند به عنوان عامل پیش‌گویی کننده در جهت شدت و پیش‌آگهی بیماری‌های چشمی مطرح باشد. این مطالعه، با هدف ارزیابی میزان فشار پرفیوژن چشمی در انسداد ایسکمیک ورید مرکزی شبکیه انجام شد. روش‌ها: این مطالعه، به صورت Cross section در دو گروه 44 نفره (مورد و شاهد) در بیمارستان فیض اصفهان انجام شد. تشخیص Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) حاد بر اساس معیار بالینی انجام شد. عوامل خطر مؤثر شامل Mean arterial pressure (MAP)، Ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) و Intraocular pressure (IOP) اندازه‌گیری شد. داده‌ها با استفاده از نرم‌افزار آماری SPSS تحت واکاوی قرار گرفتند. یافته‌ها: OPP در بیماران گروه Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)، 35/4 ± 38/59 و در گروه شاهد، 45/6 ± 49/53 و اختلاف بین دو گروه معنی‌دار بود (004/0 = P). فشار داخل چشم در بیماران مورد بررسی در گروه CRVO، 61/2 ± 15/15 و در گروه شاهد، 12/2 ± 77/13 بود و اختلاف معنی‌داری بین دو گروه مشاهده شد (008/0 = P). نتیجه‌گیری: OPP در گروه CRVO بالاتر بود و همچنین، IOP در گروه CRVO با اختلاف معنی‌داری نسبت به گروه شاهد بالاتر بود. افزایش OPP می‌تواند ناشی از افزایش نسبی در فشار خون (Blood pressure یا BP) یا افزایش نسبی در OP باشد که هر کدام به تنهایی یا در کنار یکدیگر، منجر به حوادث عروقی شود. از این رو، OPP به عنوان عامل خطر CRVO مطرح می‌باشد.

Background: Eye health is essential for quality-of-life. The present study aimed to design an eye care behaviors assessment instrument for the student community and evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods: The present mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted in two sections using Creswell and Plano Clark methods for instrument development. The study was conducted in Isfahan, Iran, in 2021. The first section (textual analysis and qualitative research) explained and developed the instrument's fundamental items. This section included in-depth, semistructured interviews with 21 students and eight experts. The second section measured the psychometric properties of the instrument. Twenty students assessed the instrument's qualitative and quantitative face validity in this section. The instrument's content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were evaluated. In addition, exploratory factor analysis (performed by 251 students) was used to establish construct validity. Internal and test–retest reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), respectively. Results: During face and content validity assessment, a 37-item questionnaire was finalized. Exploratory factor analysis led to the identification of three factors, including “examinations and glasses-related behaviors,” “symptom-related behaviors,” and “screen-related behaviors.” The three extracted factors accounted for 37.9% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha was equal to 0.874 when evaluating internal consistency, and the ICC value for the total score of the questionnaire was 0.885 (0.810–0.941), indicating excellent test–retest reliability. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the questionnaire's validity and reliability. This instrument assesses the prevalence of university students' most significant eye health risk behaviors. Consequently, it helps prevent eye problems.

Background: Eye care is crucial for maintaining healthy vision. This study aimed to design a determinants assessment instrument related to eye self-care in the student community and evaluate its psychometric properties. Materials and Methods: The present mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted in two sections using Creswell and Plano Clark methods for instrument development. The study was conducted in Isfahan, Iran, in 2021. The first section (textual analysis and qualitative research) explained and developed the instrument's fundamental items. This section included in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 21 students and eight experts. In the second, the psychometric properties of the designed instrument have been evaluated. Twenty students assessed the instrument's qualitative and quantitative face validity. The instrument's content was measured by computing the content validity ratio and content validity index. In addition, exploratory factor analysis (performed on 251 students) was used to establish construct validity. Internal and test–retest reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), respectively. Results: During face and content validity assessment, a 39-item questionnaire was finalized. Exploratory factor analysis led to the extraction of seven factors, including “perceived self-efficacy and self-regulation,” “outcome expectation,” “perceived barriers,” “motivation,” “perceived susceptibility,” “normative beliefs,” and “perceived severity.” The seven extracted factors explained 48.6% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha was obtained to be 0.780, indicating good internal consistency, and the ICC for the total score of the questionnaire was 0.892 (95% confidence interval: 0.822–0.944), indicating excellent test–retest reliability. Conclusion: Our developed questionnaire was a valid and reliable instrument for assessing eye care determinants among students, a vulnerable population afflicted with eye defects and disorders.

Most time series from real-world processes are stained with noise. Therefore, much attention should be paid to data noise removal techniques. In this study, we use the family of biorthogonal wavelet, high-pass, and low-pass filters, to investigate the power of the wavelet method in removing noise from time series data. Using the wavelet discrete transformation, the variability of precipitation and sea surface temperature is analyzed for a southern region of the Caspian Sea. At each stage of decomposition, the previous wave is decomposed into two waves. In this research, the SST and precipitation data are decomposed into several levels based on discrete wavelet transformation. In each level of decomposition, the previous wave is decomposed into two waves. This can be done many times and at each stage, reducing the amount of data. This method is reversible, and the original wave can be reconstructed using the decomposed values. In the study of discrete wavelet transforms, it was observed that the analysis based on wavelets leads to more accurate results. The reconstruction error in the proposed method is shown to be very small.